All this week’s movies opened Christmas Day. Reviews ran in Wednesday’s Free Press and are available at freep.com, unless noted.
“47 Ronin”: Keanu Reeves returns to the world of action and adventure in a tale about samurai out to avenge the death of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun. Rated PG-13; violence, action, disturbing images and mature themes. (No advance screening for critics.)
“Grudge Match” ★★ : This is sort of “Punchy Old Men,” a slow-footed high-concept comedy that pairs up the screen’s greatest pugilists, circa 1981, for a few slaps and a few laughs. Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone square off as aged boxers brought back by desperation and a desperate fight promoter, played by Kevin Hart. Slow, sentimental, slick and sadly recycled, it’s still perfectly passable holiday entertainment for people who dated during the “Rocky” and “Raging Bull” era. Rated PG-13; sports action violence, sexual content and language. 1 hour, 53 minutes. By Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
“Justin Bieber’s Believe”: A blend of concert of film and documentary, “Believe” looks at the similarly named tour and some of the pressures Bieber has faced while growing up as one of the world’s biggest stars. It’s the follow-up to the 2011 film “Never Say Never.” Rated PG; brief language and mild thematic material. (No advance screening for critics.)
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” ★★ : Due to a sad accident of history, this film arrives as not just a biography of the late leader but a memorial. Nelson Mandela’s recent death has burdened this conventional, high-minded, rather pedestrian movie with an unsought mantle of significance. The film’s scope is vast, following a linear chronology and shadowing its hero from his village childhood to old age. Idris Elba plays him throughout the decades with verve, confidence and occasional dashes of ironic humor. As with most film biographies, the movie’s reach exceeds its grasp. Rated PG-13; some intense sequences of violence and disturbing images, sexual content and brief strong language. 2 hours, 19 minutes. By Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” ★★★: In director-star Ben Stiller’s new film based on the 1939 James Thurber short story, the daydreaming Mitty becomes a shy fortysomething who isn’t so much avoiding reality as using fantasy as an excuse for not seizing the day, for not asking out the woman (Kristen Wiig) at the office, for never traveling and experiencing the world. A photo editor at Life magazine whose job is at risk as the publication goes digital, his search for an important missing negative places him in fantasy sequences that include trips to Iceland and battles with his corporate drone boss (Adam Scott). Beautifully shot, it’s a charming, whimsical and ever-so-slight film, a bit of an overreach but pleasant enough. Rated PG; crude comments, language and violence. 1 hour, 54 minutes. By Roger Moore.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” ★★★★ : The latest film from Martin Scorsese (arguably this country’s greatest living director) features two of the era’s most notable leading men (Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey) and is based on Jordan Belfort’s best-selling memoir about his days as a young, ruthless Wall Street warlord. Despite some missteps and the need for an editor, it mostly manages to live up to the interest generated by its kinetic trailers and the heavy hand of hype. While there are obvious similarities to such previous Scorsese films as “Goodfellas” and “Casino,” this freewheeling and often ferociously funny film about a bunch of goofballs — pumped up on coke, crooked capitalism, testosterone and entitlement — stands on its own as one of the year’s most entertaining films. Rated R; sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, language and violence. 3 hours, By Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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